Tuesday, December 30, 2008

WOAH

So go to http://willkristin.wordpress.com/ if you want to catch up on most of Matt and I's Christmas fun.


When we got home from their house after staying a few days there were 9 foot mountains of snow in the yard (from the snow being plowed and Matt found this hanging off the building across the street. My Dad and Matt hurried to shovel the foot or so of snow off the walk ways and drive way so we could pull our car in. It was CRAZY weather!
I am all ready tired of snow by the way....

Monday, December 22, 2008

Never eat yellow snow!!! Matts Post

When life gives you lemons, make lemonade. That is a great way to look at life, although, you should never confuse your lemonade, with yellow snow. This is one of the important lessons I am trying to teach Jason. We had a chance to make use of the awful weather to our benefit. We had a great time sledding on Saturday afternoon. We tried sledding when he was one years old with very little success. The concept of holding on was quite a failure. Now, we have seen great progress in his attempts to go sledding as he did not face plant it, even once.

Most of our conversations during the sled day went like this..... Jason: That hill is easier!
Matt: But this one is faster.
Jason: I wanna go on that hill.
Matt: Do you wanna go on this hill?
Jason: Yep!
Let's hope he works on his negotiation skills as he continues to get older.
I thought it was funny that you can see both our smiles from here. It is interesting to see how he copes, with me making the sled rides more extreme. I will say this, he does trust me. He probably thinks that if I am doing it, it must be okay. A lot of pressure comes with that responsibility. Colton and I once made a paraglider out of sheets and PVC pipe. (Nope, it didn't work)






We finally were able to implement those vice grips of his, and allow Jason to go down by himself.


This was especially funny. We decided to go down on our stomachs. The way he decided to overcome his fear, was to cover his eyes. I guess, if you can't see it, it is not really there, right. He covered his eyes all the way down. Once he found that it worked, he would just cover his eyes any time he got scared.

I was very impressed with his courage, so it was time to test that courage by going down backwards. There are two videos which show the awesome ride. The first time we wiped out, that that's why we tried it again.











Friday, December 19, 2008

Whew I am glad that is over

So both Matt and I are done TODAY with all our finals. Man I thought they would never end. I came out with 3 A's and one uhh B maybe worse. That is the last final I took and I am not so sure about it :( At this point though I am ready to be done with that semester. We'll have to see next week for sure what our grades are. Matt has his last final in a few hours so wish him luck and say a mini-prayer. Now, Bring on the Holidays but not the snow, oh wait way too late for that. :)

Thursday, December 18, 2008

Oh the weather outside is HORRIBLE!!!

So good morning all, welcome to Utah! This morning this is what I woke up to. Jordan and Michaela drove in last night so we could take them to the airport this morning. YIKES! Well the south end of the valley was horrible but the north end wasn't too shabby. It only took us about 50 minutes to get to the airport and it took me about the same time to get home. Needless to say I am working from home, I didn't want to have to brave more inclement weather all day in time to get home and make soup for a church function tonight at 5:30.
Here is Ryan's Car. He has been in California since the 10th I told him when he comes home his car would be covered in snow. :)


Here is the front yard, normally you should be able to see the street... wait where is it? (You wonder why I don't want to drive any where)
I decided to stick a ruler in the snow to see how much we get today. As of right now its just below six inches. Its supposed to snow off and on the rest of the day so we'll have to see what it is tonight!
Snow plows are just barely coming in right now. Man oh Man I thought it was supposed to snow the hardest tomorrow!? I guess we'll see what that brings. Just in time for Matt and I's last finals. Oh and Jasons birthday.... go sledding!


Monday, December 15, 2008

Oh the weather outside is frightful

So funny thing is it was dumping down SNOW on Saturday at our house so we loaded up in the Jeep and went down to go sledding with the Jason and Sierra. What? no snow around Kristin and Will's house? Lame. We ended up watching movies, painting crafts and hanging out instead. Later that evening Suzanne, Will, Matt and I headed over to the Marriott Center for a Mens Basketball game. BYU played Portland St. BYU won by a large margin but it was still a fun game to watch. BYU is now 10-0 and have a 52 home game winning streak! Go Cougars!

Matt was wearing a beanie all day so his hair is a little wild. We sat right down front and it was awesome.
Here is my favorite player on the team. Jimmer Fredette, yeah I didn't spell it wrong it's Jimmer. He is so good and only a sophomore. He does have some room for improvement, I mean who doesn't but all and all he is a great shooter and defender. Matt and I love watching him go coast to coast, take it to the hole with 3 guys collapsing on him, do a SWEET looking layup AND draw the foul only to make his free throws. Now that's exciting stuff I'll tell you what! The last couple games hes been dunking it on his fast breaks as well, man I wish I could dunk wouldn't that be awesome?
During half time "Jeans dance company" came out to do a little cowboy dance to Alan Jackson's song "Good Time" It was Hilarious! There were 50 women over 50. Jean the oldest lady right in the middle is 92! At the end she stayed on the floor and danced with Cosmo Cougar then did the full on SPLITS! Matt, Will, Suzanne, and I were cracking up and clapping along. Matt said those ladies got away with some moves the Cougarettes aren't even allowed to do. Jean also reminded us of Matt's Memama. (His 95? year old great-grandmother)
On Sunday we went to church then headed over to Holly's new house for our cousin Cons little birthday get together. It was great food (thanks to chef's Eric and Holly :) and great company with tons of family! A special thanks to Mickey for making Sweet potatoes, Matt LOVED them!
Now it's back to another week of finals and the reality of finishing gifts, buying a little more, wrapping everything, then mailing it all off in time to be there by Christmas! Also this week is supposed to be more and more snow. Sorry to all you traveling around here. Drive safe this week everyone!

Friday, December 12, 2008

Concerts and wait does it smell like burning hair?

Last night we attended an EXCELLENT Christmas Concert at the Conference Center. It started at 8 pm needless to say it was chilly waiting outside. I know, I know, never wear a turtle neck bulky sweater in pictures, it makes you look chubby yeah yeah. But like I said it was COLLLLLD. Of course Matt looks dashing as usual. Here is Suzanne and her friend Maria. The music was wonderful and masterfully sung. The concert was about 90 minutes and I enjoyed every minute! Hey did you know that when Hallelujah from the Messiah is sung that you stand up? Or was that just last night, I don't know someone will have to confirm or deny that for me. All of us were complexed as to why everyone was standing up.


Next story, this morning was the Garbett Christmas Breakfast Party kind of thing and I came early to help Sheila, the office manager set up. We we were putting out all the food in the warmers (eggs bacon potatoes and stuffed french toast) I grabbed a lighter to light the little caro things that goes below the warming trays. I lit all of them then individually started putting them underneath each tray. Well when I leaned over to put the first one under I hear a sizzling noise and saw black and orange out of the corner of my eye. YIKES MY HAIR IS ON FIRE! Okay now I have a new uhh haircut? I didn't burn much at all in fact no one could tell but then Sheila said, does it smell like burning hair? My response was "Yeah well I cant handle lighting things with out burning my hair." HAHA so not a major casualty but enough that now all I smell is burning hair. Yuck.

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

My own

So during these last 2 weeks of school I have woken up every morning to more and more acne... okay too much information but seriously my body and mind are STRESSED! One final down 3 more to go. I have it within my grasp to get straight A's but I am thinking it will end up 2 A's and 2 B's. Let's be honest a diploma is a diploma no matter what my GPA is, (which is actually still pretty dang good) AND I don't really want to go to Graduate school so hey I'll take a B or two!

In the midst of all this studying and after my last post of my 2 songs that I hate more then anything I thought, "What are your top 5's?" Will and Suzanne got me thinking about this... So here is my list! I am interested to hear from everyone else as well. It's hard to narrow down top 5 favorite songs but here is my attempt. So this is my own made up TAG thing if anyone wants to play along.

WARNING MY TOP FIVE MOST HATED SONGS CAN EASILY BE STUCK IN YOUR HEAD JUST SKIM THE LIST!! YOU ARE HOSED IF YOU REALLY TRY AND THINK OF EACH!

Top 5 Most HATED songs:
1. "Brick House" by the Commodores
2. "Shout" by Tears for Fears
3. "Ain't Nothin but Mammals" by The Bloodhound Gang
4. "I Kissed a Girl" by Kate Perry
5. "Last Christmas" by WHAM or whomever else tries to sing it.

Top 5 Most LOVED Songs:
1. "Bohemian Rhapsody" by Queen (and others by these guys)
2. "Say it ain't so" by Weezer (NUMEROUS others by these guys they are my fav. band!)
3. "Stranded in a Limousine" by Paul Simon (Love a lot from this guy too!)
4. "Indian Outlaw" by Tim McGraw (He's my favorite singer!)
5. "I'm Yours" by Jason Mraz ( Summer 2008 song, go get a tan!)

Runner up? "The Spectrum Song" by Professor Ludwig Von Drake

I picked all of those because I seriously rock out to each turning up the radio quite loud and singing on the top of my lungs... I am sure I have ballads and more country that I really like as well. So looks like I am not much for chick singers eh? I like a whole bunch of stuff so it was hard to narrow it down, BUT this is what I came up with. Good luck on yours!

Monday, December 8, 2008

Tagged

All right I was tagged by my cousin Katy. The 7 weird/random things about yourself tag.

1. Whenever I am tired and still on the couch, I slowly take my socks off under the blanket. I start by scrunching them around my ankles then as I get more tired they end up off my heals then as I get more tired they end up just covering my toes and eventually when I am about to fall asleep I kick them off. It really creeps Will (my B.I.L.) out for some reason :)

2. I realized as I was watering my Christmas tree this morning that I don't have any plants in my house. (Well besides the Christmas tree currently) 3 years and no plants? Man I need to get a little plant and put it somewhere! I really like vegetation.

3. I think a lot of movies and t.v. shows are really funny (i.e. The Office, The Big Bang Theory, Music & Lyrics etc...) but rarely do I laugh out loud about them. I'll just smirk usually. Matt on the other hand laughs out loud at everything down to silly commercials.

4. I hate driving in snow (ask me why I live in UTAH then?)

5. I have really good veins for giving blood and a really awesome blood type to be a donor but I refuse. I always claim I am not over the weight limit :) In all actuality I HATE NEEDLES I know it doesn't hurt blah blah blah I just hate it. I get it from my dad. In fact when I was a child at the dentist my mom would have to lay across my legs and a hygienist would have to hold my arms and another would hold my head while the doctor gave me a shot to numb me up for fillings. Same situation when I was 12 getting my booster shots, running around the doctors office until a nurse/my mom could catch me and if you all remember correctly I was one speedy little girl :) I am not that bad now but I still hate it. I get really shaky and almost cry every time doctor or dentist.

6. I wish I had an endless supply of money (who doesn't right?) so I could quit my job and go to school as long as I want (minus the tests). So much to learn so little time!

7. There are 2 songs that I absolutely can not stand and if I have any sort of control over the choice of music will change the song as soon as possible they are "Brick House" by The Commodores and "Shout" by Tears for Fears. Now I am telling you all this in confidence that you will not torture me with these songs but just be aware that I really really don't like them.

Wednesday, December 3, 2008

California Cutie


I bought my first batch of the season, yum. They are one of Matt's favorites this time of year! I love smell mixing with Christmas tree and Cinnamon. I put a bowl of them on the kitchen table lets see how long they last my guess is 2... 3 days at best :) HEY JACQUE even Shane should be able to do those by himself they peel so easily! ( I just remembered that Shane likes you to peel his Oranges for him because he doesnt like to get all the stuff on his hands, the things you do for the one you love)

Tuesday, December 2, 2008

Black Friday






I decided that on Black Friday I would brave the crowds and go to Wal-mart for a couple of the good deals they had, I can really say what they are because none of it was for me but for those on my list :) Ryan decided he wanted to go as well because they had 2 dollar DVDs. We got up and left just before 5 o clock and thought that would be good enough time to run down to the Wal-Mart 5 minutes away. WRONG. There was traffic, then the parking was horrendous, then by the time we got in there all the movies we ransacked and everything else that I wanted was gone. So note to self get to Wal-Mart early next year. Regardless Ryan and I got somewhat of what we needed. We got home around 6:30, the lines took forever. I went back to bed and Matt left for work. I slept for another couple hours then Suzanne came over and the fun began!






We went and bought a CHRISTMAS TREE and a few more decorations. I had some things from last years after Christmas sale but others I didn't. Its a real one so the house smells nice and festive. I was so excited about it. Matt could care less if we have a tree so I had to make sure I did it. Man those things suck up a TON of water TOO! Anyways so here we are decorating the tree and putting out a few decorations that we have.





After Matt got home we just hung out and were really bored, (The Wu's ignored us all weekend so of course we had nothing else to do) so we made a dumb video of me trying to jump on Matt and have him lift me up... ha ha




Saturday Matt and I cut out all the wood for that Christmas Tree Advent Calender and sanded everything(Look Dad, safety goggles even, Matt insisted that I wear them...Good thing I could have gotten dust in my eyes :). Right as soon as we were finishing up Suzanne called asking if we wanted to go see "Into he Woods" a play that my cousin Kelly was in. We said sure ( THANK YOU RAY AND LINDA WE ENJOYED IT THOROUGHLY) and hurried to get dressed and made it just in time. Kelly played "Little Red" wonderfully then afterwards we went to my favorite restaurant Outback for dinner.

Sunday morning I woke up to an early phone call from the Choir director of our ward saying one of her sisters that was supposed to sing with her in sacrament meeting was sick and wondered if I could sing with her instead..... Well I guess, I am decent at sight reading. So before choir practice we sang through it twice then started with regular choir practice. (Side note: since being released from the YW presidency I now have time on Sunday morning to go to choir practice, I haven't sang in a long time and I really like it!) Then we ran through it half way one more time before church then you guessed it we went up (there were 4 of us) and busted it out. We sang "Come Thou Fount" Matt said it sounded great and others complimented as well. I some how managed to remember the harmonies and sing them right... that wasn't all me pretty sure the Lord helped big time with that. Anyways but it was actually fun I am not the type of person the gets anxiety about things like that so for me it's no sweat. I am glad I could help :) Too bad my sisters are too shy to sing in front of anyone or else we could all sing in church all the time. Wouldn't that be fun!

Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin passes away


Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin passes away
December 2nd, 2008 @ 7:14am
(KSL News) Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin, who was the oldest living apostle of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, has passed away at the age of 91.
Elder Wirthlin had gone to bed at his Salt Lake City home last night and died peacefully at about 11.30 pm of causes incident to age.
According to the LDS Church Web site, his oldest daughter, Jane Wirthlin Parker, was present. A member of the family had been staying and caring for Elder Wirthlin, whose wife, Elisa Young Rogers Wirthlin, died in 2006.
He had continued to work at his office up until the Thanksgiving holiday.
Funeral arrangements will be announced.

Monday, December 1, 2008

One Day at a time...



Okay Thanksgiving! We'll start with that day. I got up at around 8 a.m. to finish the last layer of Jello and make the apple pie needed for the evening. About an hour and a half later I put the turkey in the oven, thinking "Okay, it will take about 4 or 5 hours to cook that should be perfect for dinner around 2-3" (that's how we have always done it in the Bragg family its not really dinner, more a mid-afternoon thing)


Matt got up a little while later, deciding not to play football. So he went and exercised instead, while I continued prepping for the day. I walked up the stairs to put something away and as I was walking down the stairs at about 12:30 I heard something click... I thought no way it cant be.... YEP you guessed it the tender timer clicked the turkey was done! Anyone ever heard of a 14 pound turkey cooking in a little less then 3 hours? I had the temp right and everything. So called my mom and dad, they said "wow maybe your oven cooks a little hot just put some foil over it put the oven as low as it goes and continue on... pull it out when you need it." So I got dressed and Suzanne came over then the fun began!


I told her about the turkey and she laughed, then I said okay we need to start peeling the sweet potatoes. I grabbed the peeler and began.... Oh no! The flesh is white I bought the wrong type of sweet potatoes! So we ran to the Smiths down the road to get the orange fleshed ones to not trip Matt out. He is the only one who likes sweet potatoes and I only make them once a year so I cant screw them up! Anyways after running around and getting everything ready ( oh and thanks to my mom I called her multiple times with little snags :) dinner was done at 3 on the spot. We had Turkey, Mashed Potatoes, Gravy, Rolls, Jell-O, Corn, Carrots, Olives, Sweet Potatoes, Stuffing, and did I say TURKEY? :)

We ate then headed over to the 5 o'clock showing of "Four Christmases" with Vince Vaughn and Reese Witherspoon. We all thought it was pretty dang funny, especially Matt and I the way they talk to each other is somewhat similar to the way that we talk to each other. After the movie we went bowling (of course what else would we do) and I was beating Ryan until the last frame the BAM he gets 2 strikes and a spare in the 10th frame to smoke me. Suzanne came in dead last and Matt beat us all by a large margin.



After bowling we went home and ate pie, Pumpkin Pie, Apple Pie and Rich Heath Bar Cheesecake. The cheesecake is REALLY EASY to make and VERY YUMMY if you want the recipe leave me a comment and I'll e-mail it to you. That evening we played the Disney "Are you smarter then a fifth grader" and Matt and I won with out even using a cheat! Ryan and Suzanne technically lost at their 2nd grade level but we let them continue on anyways...then I believe we watched Wall-E or Fred Claus. I cant remember I fell asleep! Thanksgiving was a great day, all the food was great(including the Turkey and the gravy was FABULOUS), the games were fun, and the company was wonderful.


Tomorrows post? ... the day after Thanksgiving :)

Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Alas, he has thrown in the towel

Poor Matt, he pulled his hamstring last Saturday playing football and has been feverishly trying to nurse it back to health for his all time favorite holiday and it's oh so wonderful activities. But as I stated before he has thrown in the towel. He realized it yesterday when he was trying to "jog" to make it to across the street to the train and he couldn't bend his knees or legs to get going quickly enough. While walking he is fine but anything passed that? Pain!

He has asked me a few times..... "Mick, (in a sad, rejected sounding voice) what do you think I should do Thanksgiving morning since I wont be playing football?" I always tell him "It's okay you're just getting older and you need to take better care of your body." Then I get the I'M GETTING OLDER LOOK along with a "Mick" Man I'll have to take a picture when he says Mick that way. Most of the family knows exactly what I am talking about. He strains his neck forward, cocks his head to the side, widens his eyes with a half serious, half smiling mouth. Its great, makes me laugh just thinking about it.

I still say he should throw some IcyHot on it tonight, followed by a good R.I.C.E (Rest Ice Compress Elevate) then wrap it really well in the morning coupled with a good dose of Ibuprofen and have at it. We'll see what he decides either or he'll be in pain (Emotional or Physical)

We are going to see "Four Christmases" tomorrow at the 5 or 6 o'clock showing (The District) followed by an intense game of bowling, then back home for Pumpkin Pie (with the appropriate type of whipped topping Matt informed me), Apple Pie (with Vanilla Ice cream) and Rich Heath bar Cheesecake (with a big glass of milk because it really is rich) If anyone would like to join us! :)

Have a Happy Turkey Day tomorrow!
Love to all!
(just like Holly says at the end of all her posts)

Monday, November 24, 2008

Kickin butt and takin names

First of all I don't want to talk about what happened on Saturday.... ridiculous Max. I feel bad for him more then anything.

Moving on I wanted to say that I am SO THANKFUL for my high school English teacher Mrs. Adriann Hillman. She was the best English teacher ever and I strongly suggest that anyone living back home takes her as a teacher! I say that because in all the college English classes I have ever had things that I thought people should just know from high school come up all the time. For example, how to site something properly in a paper, duh its the authors last name and the year the article was written. NOPE not very many people know that of the top of their heads, Weird! Anyways the reason I bring this up is I spent about 3 hours writing this review that our teacher gave our class 2 weeks to write and I came out with one of the best grades in the class?! HA HA thanks Mrs. Hillman! I can kick butt and take names with as little time involved as possible. You all know how much of that I have these days :) Go Mrs. Hillman you are the BEST!

Disclaimer: I am on my way to class and thought I would quickly write this blog so if there are errors don't let that reflect poorly on Mrs. Hillman's teaching but it's my fault for not proof reading.

Friday, November 21, 2008

Christmas Tree??

I am wearing a green sweater and tan dress pants I feel like a Christmas tree... Suzanne and I went last night and bought all the wood, nails, and wire, needed for our Christmas Tree Craft that we are making this weekend maybe it was inspiration!? After we bought it all we traced all the pieces out on the boards. Matt said that he would work on cutting everything tonight so we can paint it all tomorrow morning. What a nice husband. It's an advent calender so we'll need to for sure have it ready by the 1st! We'll have to show you pictures when we are working on them tomorrow :) I am excited

Thursday, November 20, 2008

Black Friday Ads

I found this webiste if anyone is interested

http://www.blackfriday.info/sales/

Its pretty organized. Check it out if you are one of those crazies that go for it the day after thanksgiving.

As excited as a kid in a candy store!

As some of you know earlier this year some co-workers of mine showed me how to do "glitter toes". I loved it so much because I never painted my toes and didn't even own finger nail polish. This glitter stayed perfectly glittery for months before I had to file it off and do it again. Some of you I have done before and if you ever need me to do it again let me know and I'll have my stuff with me. ANYWAYS I do my Aunt Sharon's toes about once every month and a half or so and as her little thank you to me she bought me THIS!
LOOK AT THAT!!! ALL THOSE COLORS! Before this I only had about 6 colors now I have TONS and I get to start mixing them as well... a little white or silver with aquamarine ohhh I am excited. Any test cases? What am I thankful for? Glittery toes for sure I have had 4 colors since May... that's how long they stay on my toesies :)

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Pretty litle pearl


If you havent heard of the website propertyroom.com you should check it out... well maybe not. I was looking at it one day and for the first time in my life decided "heck why not bid on something" I was wearing pearls that day and so I thought "hmmm a nice pearl ring eh?" The opening bid was a dollar so I bet 4 (you have to vote in predetermined increments) and "what I won?" It was 4 dollars plus 10 dollars shipping and handling. Apparently its valued at $80-129 so I guess i got a good deal? Talk about an impulse buy yikes! My first one ever... I don't really like jewelry what was I thinking? Needless to say I haven't checked out the website lately no more impulse buys for me :)






Also last weekend I started playing the piano so Jason joined me then wanted to dance to dance to what I was playing to, so then it was just Sierra and I. She got disinterested then just wanted to crawl on the piano when she started trying to get on top of the keys I had to say enough.

Monday, November 17, 2008

A positive coach

As most of you know I am majoring in Exercise and Sport Science, specifically Physical Education Teaching Education. I have had to write TONS of papers and do loads of research about teaching and coaching. I thoroughly enjoy it all. Something I came across this evening while doing my 5 hours of straight homework (not even kidding) was the Positive Coaching Alliance. I am pretty sure these are the reasons why I like Bronco Mendenhall, coach of the BYU Cougars Football team so much he really uses this as a guideline to his coaching. Some day when I am a soccer mom, a coach, or both I hope to remember this as well. As part of their program they teach this:

THE DOUBLE-GOAL COACH
A Positive Coach is a "Double-Goal Coach."
A win-at-all-cost coach has only one goal: to win. He or she is concerned primarily with teaching skills and developing strategy designed to win games.

A Positive Coach also wants to win but has a second goal: to help players develop positive character traits, so they can be successful in life. Winning is important, but the second goal, helping players learn "life lessons," is more important. A Positive Coach puts players first.

JOB DESCRIPTION
There are three major elements to the "job description" of a Positive Coach.
A Positive Coach:

REDEFINES "WINNER"
A Positive Coach helps players redefine what it means to be a winner by focusing on mastery rather than score. S/he sees victory as a by-product of the pursuit of excellence. S/he focuses on effort rather than outcome and on learning rather than comparison to others. S/he recognizes that mistakes are an important and inevitable part of learning and fosters an environment in which players don't fear making mistakes. While not ignoring the teaching opportunities that mistakes present, s/he teaches players that a key to success is how one responds to mistakes. S/he sets standards of continuous improvement for him/herself and the players. S/he encourages the players, whatever their level of ability, to strive to become the best players, and people, they can be.
S/he teaches players that a winner is someone who makes maximum effort, continues to learn and improve, and doesn’t let mistakes (or fear of mistakes) stop them.

FILLS PLAYERS' EMOTIONAL TANKS
A Positive Coach is a positive motivator who refuses to motivate through fear, intimidation, or shame. S/he recognizes that every player has an "Emotional Tank" like the gas tank of a car. Just as a car with an empty gas tank can’t go very far, a player with an empty emotional tank doesn't have the energy to do his/her best. A Positive Coach understands that compliments, praise, and positive recognition fill Emotional Tanks. S/he understands the importance of giving truthful and specific feedback and resists the temptation to give praise that is not warranted. When correction is necessary, a Positive Coach communicates criticism to players in ways that don't undermine their sense of self-worth. A Positive Coach strives to achieve a 5:1 "Plus/Minus Ratio" of praise to correction.
A Positive Coach establishes order and maintains discipline in a positive manner. S/he listens to players and involves them in decisions that affect the team. S/he works to remain positive even when things aren't going well. S/he recognizes that it is often when things go wrong that a coach can have the most lasting impact and can teach the most important lessons. Even when facing adversity, s/he refuses to demean him/herself, the players, or the environment. S/he always treats athletes with respect, regardless of how well they perform.


HONORS THE GAME
A Positive Coach feels an obligation to the sport and teaches the players to Honor the Game. "Honoring the Game" means getting to the ROOTS of the matter, where ROOTS stands for respect for:
Rules: A Positive Coach upholds the spirit, as well as the letter, of its rules.
Opponents: A Positive Coach respects opponents, recognizing that a worthy opponent will push the athletes to do their best.
Officials: A Positive Coach understands the important role that officials play and shows them respect, even when s/he disagrees with their calls.
Teammates: A Positive Coach encourages players to make a commitment to each other and to encourage one another on and off the field. S/he values the rich tradition of the sport and feels privileged to participate.
Self: A Positive Coach realizes that one of the most difficult times to Honor the Game is when the opponent is not, and s/he reminds the players to live up to their own highest standard (respect for self).

Ultimately, a Positive Coach demonstrates integrity and would rather lose than win by dishonoring the game.

Not going to lie after I read that it pretty much sent shivers down my spine. Even if no one else cares, I do. I hope to be the best volunteer/soccer mom that I can be and heck I see all that as applicable to parenting as well as coaching. Go Bronco and Go Cougars :)

Go Mighty Cougars

Now begins my week of nausea....BYU plays Utah this upcoming Saturday. YIKES This game always makes me nervous!




This weekend the Cougars won in both Men's Basketball and Football. On Friday night the Basketball team played Long Beach St. and we pulled it out in the end. It was close until the end when we pulled away. Jimmer didn't play all that well, I believe he only had 6 points, but Lee Cummard had pretty much the game of his life! He was 13 of 15, 3 for 3 at the 3 point line, a whole bunch of rebounds and assists as well. Good thing Lee is a stud this year! I think Miles will fill in nicely where Plaisted left off. So here are pictures!
Look Closely and you'll see Grandma Grandpa and the Gundred gang. They were sitting across the way from us. We were waiting to get in and Jason was playing with his cars on the floor. Sierra was very good at the game, she watched for a little bit as well. Will always had a close eye on her. :)
Matt doesn't like being distracted to take pictures during the game...
There is Suzanne!
Jason was looking at Matt while I was trying to take the picture..... he has such funny faces these days...

Saturday we watched the football game and I was really glad that BYU beat Air Force soundly. Again it was a close game at the beginning but because of a turnover on Air Forces part we were able to pull ahead after capitalizing on that mistake. We scored again after that as well to put the game away.

Sunday we went to church where Matt taught the Men in Elders Quorum. I teach next week on President Monsons talk given last October. After church we were signed up for Tithing Settlement, so we stuck around and got home too late to head down to Grandmas house for her birthday. SORRY WE MISSED IT! Happy Belated birthday Grandma!
What and I thankful for this time? My sisters who put up with me when I am being a Brat and whom I put up with when they are being Brats... you just gotta love it :)